A few people reacted, but most were still completely bewildered. At a time like this, even the Imperial Army's discipline couldn't keep them from losing the ability to think in the face of this sudden turn of events.
King Soren sighed. Even he could no longer rally the panicked soldiers.
All he could do now was keep moving toward the starport as best he could.
The good news was that a fortress this vast would take time to collapse completely. It might even stop collapsing halfway through.
The bad news was that the corridors kept crumbling, making every step more difficult. For every five hundred meters he advanced, he had to clear at least three obstacles and make three force-field leaps.
King Soren could sense that what was pouring into the fortress was not just burning fuel and air, but also a vast amount of volatile, invisible spiritual energy. It was probably a sign that numerous occult arrays had collapsed and gone out of control.
Fortunately, after ten minutes of staggering onward, he finally reached the route leading to the starport.
"Order all fleets to launch!" he shouted.
"But there are still our people inside the fortress. And you..."
It was true. At least a hundred thousand people were still inside, and King Soren himself hadn't even reached the starport yet. But the Grand Elector didn't hesitate for a moment. He shouted, "Launch immediately! That's an order! I'll catch up. Especially the Mountain God Gandalang—force an immediate launch!"
The Mountain God was still undergoing maintenance inside the fortress. The fleet officers thought as much, but facing the Elector's near-bellowing command, they naturally didn't dare voice a single objection.
And so, this cruel order was relayed to every Imperial warship inside the fortress. The collapse seemed to be spreading from the